Sunday, January 8, 2012

Autism in Children - Recognizing Symptoms and Modes of Treatment

Autism, also known as infantile autism is a condition that is known to develop before the child turns three years old. The characteristic features of this condition are impairment of communication in these children and problem interacting socially. Some of the known symptoms of autism include:

• This condition is recognized only when the child is old enough to interact socially and noticed by the primary caregiver at home• The most characteristic feature so autism in kids is noticed when the child starts withdrawing slowly and does not participate in the social gatherings• Repetitive movements such as rocking and these children may also indulge in self-destructive behavior such as biting or bang their head repeatedly.• Parents find these kids unresponsive and unable to make eye contact with them• These kids start speaking later than usual and not very good at conversing with other children or adults

In order to identify the symptoms of autism, health professionals employ certain questionnaires and other instruments and also rely on their parents observations. Once some of the symptoms of this condition are recognized, there are other test can be used to confirm this diagnosis. A complete assessment usually involves multiple diagnoses conducted by a team of health professionals including a psychologist, neurologist psychiatrist, speech therapist and so on.

There are both genetic and environmental reasons that play a role in the development of autism. According to the research done on this topic, there are some genes that are responsible for this condition. Furthermore, certain conditions like manic depression, Fragile X Syndrome, epilepsy other learning disabilities.

Although the reasons that cause autism are not clear, scientists have been able to point out some factors that lead to autism. Besides genetic reasons, there are some abnormalities in the brain and changes in the level of neurotransmitters such as serotonin that could lead to this condition. These results are in the initial phase of research and require more work.

Although there is no sure-shot treatment for autism, there are medications, educational sessions and other modes of treatment and therapies that help these individuals recover. Medications may be given by physicians to alleviate symptoms of anxiety, depression or anticonvulsant drugs.

Behavioral therapy can help autistic kids by helping the infants develop social and language skills. There is also counseling available for parents and other members of the family so that they can understand what the child is going through and be supportive for them. There may be other therapies suggested for autism but parents have to be careful and use it only if it is supported by scientific evidence or under the guidance of their doctors.